The following is a story that I told at a Moth StorySLAM at The Bell House in Brooklyn in March of this year. The theme of the night was Money.

I told a story about my stepfather’s attempt to get me to call him “Dad.”

It was the first time in my storytelling career that I was forced to go first. Going first at a StorySLAM is the kiss of death. As good as your story and performance may be, it’s nearly impossible to go first and win. In fact, I’ve been told it’s never been done.

I know storytellers who come to StorySLAMs with two stories:

One that they believe is a winning story and a lesser story in the event their name is drawn from the hat first.

I have a hard enough time preparing one story. Two would be too much.

I did well despite my first place position. I finished in third place for the evening with scores of 9.2, 9.2 and 9.3.